The Keown goal that thrills United

Blunder from the old head in Gunners' defence puts championship in Ferguson's grasp as Bolton fight back from two goals down

"Hope springs eternal" were the watchwords at the Reebok Stadium yesterday. They were appropriate, as it turned out, for fans of Bolton Wanderers with 74 minutes gone, when Arsenal were 2-0 up, and they summed up the attitude of all connected with the Gunners after Martin Keown's own goal 10 minutes later made the final score 2-2. That lapse cost his side two vital points in their battle with Manchester United for the title.

As Arsenal's French manager, Arsène Wenger, said: "It is a big blow today. But we will recover. Maybe it is dull and dark at the moment, but it could be bright tomorrow." In the figurative sense, perhaps, but for that to be true literally the lights would have to go on and stay on for Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane today when they take on a United side who are now in the driving seat, two points clear. Both teams have just three games to play, though with Arsenal at relegated Sunderland on the last day and United facing a Europe-chasing Everton, the thrills look set to go on until 11 May.

"The way we played in certain stages of the game today gives me a lot of hope," Wenger explained, but it was not just the result that cast a cloud on the Highbury horizon. Sol Campbell was playing his last game of the season, as he now starts his four-game suspension, and Arsenal could be without others, too. They had three players injured, Pascal Cygan, Freddie Ljungberg and Lauren all going off. Wenger was incensed with the challenges which led to Lauren's and Ljungberg's injuries, although neither tackle contributed to Bolton's Florent Laville being sent off near the end. "Pascal Cygan has a tight calf and Lauren and Ljungberg have been done by very bad tackles in my opinion, and they look to be out for a while," Wenger said.

Arsenal had to wait until the second half to take the lead, Robert Pires and Thierry Henry combining to set up a tap-in for Sylvain Wiltord two minutes after the interval. When Henry used his pace down the left 10 minutes later to open up the Bolton defence again for Pires to score Arsenal's second, it seemed the points would be theirs. But then the injury blight took hold.

Keown had been on as Cygan's replacement for only six minutes when Bolton pulled a goal back in the 74th minute through Youri Djorkaeff, who was the first to react after David Seaman had parried Per Frandsen's 20-yard drive. The England centre-back then made a mess of dealing with Djorkaeff's curling free-kick in the 84th minute, looping his back-header into the corner of his own net. That goal not only spiked Arsenal but also made it more difficult for West Ham United, who play Manchester City today, to avoid relegation. Wenger said: "I believed the most important part was done at 2-0, but Bolton are fighting to survive, and we couldn't find a break for the third goal."

The scramble behind United and Arsenal for Champions' League qualification is intense. Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Fulham dropped them to fourth behind Newcastle United, who won at Sunderland. It also left them level on points with Liverpool, who won 6-0 at relegated West Bromwich Albion; Michael Owen scored four.

Everton's Champions' League ambitions ended with defeat in last week's Merseyside derby, but Wayne Rooney, for one, was not going to let Liverpool and Owen hog the Merseyside limelight. He capped a fine performance by thumping in a 20-yard shot to give Everton a 2-1 win at home to Aston Villa. The 17-year-old is supposed to be tired, but it seems he never tires of scoring eye-catching goals.